1. Field
The described embodiments relate to communicating data over a wireless link. More specifically, the described embodiments relate to communicating latency-sensitive data over a wireless data link between an access point and an electronic device.
2. Related Art
Many modern electronic devices that communicate over a wireless data link with an access point (e.g., using a wireless network such as described in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standards 802.11) may conserve energy by temporarily reducing the power consumption of the transceiver in the electronic device by putting it into a power save mode. When in the power save mode, the electronic device may then periodically return to a constant awake mode to send data and/or receive data cached at the access point.
The longer the transceiver stays in the power save mode, the more energy the electronic device can conserve. However, when the electronic device is transmitting and/or receiving latency-sensitive data such as voice or video data, long sleep periods may introduce delays in sending or receiving data that cause a noticeable lag and result in an undesirable user experience. In order to avoid introducing an unacceptable lag, an electronic device may prevent its transceiver from going into a power save mode when sending or receiving latency-sensitive data. However, maintaining the transceiver in a constant awake mode may result in increased energy usage by the electronic device, which for electronic devices powered by a battery, may result in a shorter battery life per charge.
Additionally, although the IEEE 802.11 standard has been amended (e.g., see IEEE 802.11e amendment) to include support for power management methods such as automatic power save delivery (APSD) that allow for the timely delivery of latency-sensitive data, these methods require overhead at the electronic device to set up and tear down, and they may not be supported by many legacy APs.
In the figures, like reference numerals refer to the same figure elements.